The Climate Minute

The MCAN Climate Minute - Technology shall set you free...

Good morning everybody and welcome to the MCAN Climate Minute.  It's a gloriously warm morning here in Massachusetts and Ted and Rob ponder the meaning of a heat wave in May (after a particularly chilly spring), the "climate change is stalled" meme, and thoughts about technology reversing what technology has wrought.  Grab yourself a morning cuppa and pull up a chair as we work our way through this week's Climate Minute. It's May 1st and we're looking at the second day of an expected three day 90 degree heatwave.  Weatherspark.com has some neat graphs and good information showing what an outlier this kind of weather is for May in Massachusetts. The earlier cooler weather this spring had some thinking global warming was on the wane, and a story in the BBC regarding evidence of a stall in projected temperature increases had some worried that this evidence would be used by climate change skeptics to further frustrate efforts to turn to clean energy and sustainable living.  Well, not only did the story itself promise no succor for sketpics;

"We would expect a single decade to jump around a bit but the overall trend is independent of it, and people should be exactly as concerned as before about what climate change is doing," said Dr Otto. Is there any succor in these findings for climate skeptics who say the slowdown over the past 14 years means the global warming is not real? "None. No comfort whatsoever," he said.

But if you look at the underlying data, which this post on Thinkprogress.org does, the long march toward a hotter planet is still pretty undeniable. In the face of this continued evidence and the mounting examples of the damage climate change will entail, perhaps it's time to start thinking about geoengineering?  Here's an interesting Slate article with some thoughts on getting carbon out of the atmosphere and slowing climate change. Now, of course, there's a tinfoil-hat bridge side to this argument as well...  According to some folks, geoengineering is a front for those nefarious black helicopter globalist trilateral folks who also want to fluoridate your water to turn you into a communist.  Alright, moving on... CBS' "Face the Nation" had a segment on climate change and possible connections to extreme weather.  It was a fascinating discussion and well worth the fifteen minutes it takes.  This is where Ted got his "Weather is your mood, climate is your personality" quote. As we discussed during a previous episode, the carbon bubble bears watching.  Last week China announced steps they are taking to cap greenhouse gas emissions.  Those initiatives, including a cap on carbon emissions, are another "attack" upon the value of the large fossil fuel companies.  As their reserves of fossil fuels become less valuable (because they are less likely to be used), these companies values will fall and will have a significant impact on the stock market, and thus many Americans' retirements. One way to protect your investments is to diversify (or divest entirely!) into "green investments."  Massachusetts just announced a program to make that much easier with the announcement of the Green Bond program.  These tax-exempt bonds will support green, renewable, and efficient energy projects throughout the state. Here are the quick-hit links Ted talked about: Terracide, the act of killing the planet.  (So the oil companies are Terraists...) Here's Elizabeth Kolbert's excellent New Yorker piece on Keystone XL and why the President must show leadership and reject the pipeline. Here's an interesting story on how Keystone played a major role in the primary for the US Senate race here in Massachusetts. And finally, here's a good take on how Keystone has moved the mainline climate organizations to value grassroots efforts. Looking for something to do this weekend?  Our friends at Mass Interfaith Power and Light are holding a great event this Sunday in Framingham where they'll talk about how to move the Commonwealth to a future beyond fossil fuels.  For more details go to our calendar listing here. As always, it's been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you.  You know, you can subscribe to our iTunes feed and get our podcasts automatically here.  Feel free to give us your thoughts on our Facebook page, or through old-fashioned email. You can donate and support the Climate Minute and all of MCAN's other climate change fighting activities by hitting that "donate now" button, or going to www.massclimateaction.net/donate. Remember, for climate activities near you check out our MCAN climate action calendar.  You can enter events as well as browse for interesting things to do. As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon. 

The MCAN Climate Minute - Brother can you spare $350 million?

Good morning everybody and welcome to the MCAN Climate Minute.  This morning Ted and Rob talk climate action far and near, while ambient noise levels at the pink and orange coffeehouse reach epic proportions.  Oh, and Rob drops his laptop and makes loud angry squeaks moving his chair.  NPR we are not this morning, folks... Let's start off with a little fun.  Tomorrow night's Powerball prize is projected to be $550 million, which is about $350 million in the cash option (there's that magic number again!).  Let's ignore the taxes for a minute (Wait, that's how they got Al Capone, isn't it?) and do a little fantasizing.  How would you spend $350 million to address climate change? [contact-form][contact-field label='Name' type='name' required='1'/][contact-field label='I would spend $300 to fix the climate by...' type='textarea' required='1'/][contact-field label='New Field' type='email'/][/contact-form] Whichever entry we deem best, based on a completely arbitrary decision on our part of which idea sounds the "neatest," will get two complimentary admissions to the New England Grassroots Environment Fund Rootskills event on  Saturday, June 8th (Friday night event not included, although I'm sure you could sign up for that separately).  Listen to the podcast for our ideas, or you can check out the Grist story that got Ted and I thinking about this.  Please include your email if you want to be considered for the prize, if not feel free to leave that field blank. Okay, on to the other things we covered this week: In Keystone news, unnamed Administration sources have told Reuters that a White House decision on Keystone is unlikely until this fall at the earliest, and maybe not even until 2014.  Depending on your level of cynicism you either applaud this as the President giving thoughtful consideration to the project, or wonder if he's just waiting for Congress to take the decision away from him entirely... Local climate hero Wen Stephenson (quitting your job and putting your professional future in doubt because of your belief in the media's lack of serious attention to climate change rates in my book as heroism) has piece in The Nation again discussing the need for parallels between the abolition movement and the climate movement, particularly the need to become the radicals  strong enough to support a revolution, not a simple change. Interestingly enough, a couple of local activists embodied that spirit earlier this week when they anchored their (relatively small) boat in the path of (somewhat gigantic) freighter bringing a coal shipment to the Brayton Point powerplant.  Jay O'Hara and Ken Ward blocked the freighter for hours before finally moving on at the behest of the Coast Guard.  Check out the Globe story here.  My favorite line?  Brayton spokesperson called the powerplant “one of the cleanest electricity generators of its kind," which is kind of like, oh, I dunno, calling Hurricane Katrina one of the least damaging superstorms of its kind, as it didn't cause as much monetary damage as Superstorm Sandy... Here's our previous blogpost on the movement to bar "do gooders" from filming agricultural industry violations which is likely to be used against those recording fracking problems in Pennsylvania. The Falmouth town election which will decide the fate of the two turbines at the wastewater treatment plant will take place this Tuesday.  Here's an informative and thought provoking article from the perspective of a turbine supporter.  If you'd like to give the pro-turbine folks a little love you could visit their Facebook page. The UNESCO document which discusses the "Ethical Principles and Responsibilities for Climate Change Policies" can be found here.  It's a long read, but a valuable filter to apply as you pursue your local climate action. Big week for climate related stories on WBUR.  For more on the Boston Greenovate program, go here.  You can also listen to a the BUR report about Millennials forsaking the car, or  read their discussion of how energy efficiency is working in the Northeast to lower energy demand during the summer.  (For those of you really into this kind of thing, feel free to peruse the Energy Efficiency market reports put out by the Division of Energy Resources in the early 2000's -- we were noticing the beneificial economic impacts of efficiency way back then.  Here's the 2000 report. Good luck to Gina McCarthy as her nomination progresses to the floor of the Senate.  If there is a more capable and effective choice for EPA, I don't know who that would be. For the local events we mentioned, including the Green Needham Collaborative discussion with officials from the City of Boston about their climate action plan this Monday, check out our Climate Action Calendar. We'd also love to see you at our Climate Education Meeting on the state Clean Energy and Climate Plan and Green Communities Program on Wednesday, May 29th, at 8pm in the Arlington Senior Center. As always, it's been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you.  You know, you can subscribe to our iTunes feed and get our podcasts automatically here.  Feel free to give us your thoughts on our Facebook page, or through old-fashioned email. You can donate and support the Climate Minute and all of MCAN's other climate change fighting activities by hitting that "donate now" button, or going to www.massclimateaction.net/donate. Remember, for climate activities near you check out our MCAN climate action calendar.  You can enter events as well as browse for interesting things to do. As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.

The MCAN Climate Minute - News from Hotlanta, DC, and Boston

Good morning everybody and welcome to the MCAN Climate Minute(s).  (Old friend Susan suggested we're being misleading by calling this the Climate Minute, when in fact it's pretty close to the Climate Half-Hour.  We'll, that just doesn't have the zip of "Climate Minute," so we'll stick with that and thank you for sparing the time for our ramblings.) So Ted's back in New England after a few days in Atlanta at the USCAN annual meeting.  He's filled with new ideas and interesting tidbits, here are a few links to things we mentioned in the coversation: To find the Climate Reality Project's videos, go here.  They're YouTube videos and easily embedable and shareable, perfect to send to that Uncle Joe who just doesn't quite get it yet... We've also found definitions for solastalgia, and petcoke - one is the after-product of distilling dilbit and burned as coal would be, but 5-10% more carbon intensive, while the former is the psychological distress people feel about climate change and environmental destruction.   For extra credit, there's metallurgical coal, which is the stuff you need for steel -- which we will still need even if we move off coal power. Ted picked up a couple of new catchphrases in Atlanta, for instance: "Keystone Pipeline is a pipeline through the US, not to the US," and "Stop making electricity by burning stuff," and finally "We need a FAB treaty; Fair, Ambitious  and Binding" at the next Conference of the Parties meeting in Poland in 2013. For more information about the European airlines emission trading process, check this out. Vice President Biden spilled the beans on his opposition to the Keystone pipeline, telling an activist he was personally opposed but in a minority in the administration.  Recalling when the Veep jumped the gun and supported gay marriage before the President did, is this another Biden "gaffe" which will turn out for the best? Meanwhile, at home in Massachusetts the Boston City Council adopted a building energy labeling ordinance this week which will require commercial building owners to assess their energy use which will be publicly rated.  Building owners will get assistance in increasing their efficiency and tenants will get information that will help them make educated decisions about where they would locate.  For a good write-up of the benefits of such a program, look here. Old friend (perhaps we should say "long term friend") Gina McCarthy, the President's nominee for EPA administrator, had her nomination vote delayed when the republicans "took their ball and went home" and boycotted the committee vote to move her to full Senate consideration.  The nomination will move ahead (the threshold quorum is 10 votes, which is the number of democrats, but one was traveling), but this is just another example of the troubling polarization of congress. For the local events we mentioned, including the Somerville Depaving party this Sunday, check out our Climate Action Calendar. We've rescheduled our Climate Education Meeting on the state Clean Energy and Climate Plan and Green Communities Program for Wednesday, May 29th, at 8pm in the Arlington Senior Center. As always, it's been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you.  You know, you can subscribe to our iTunes feed and get our podcasts automatically here.  Feel free to give us your thoughts on our Facebook page, or through old-fashioned email. You can donate and support the Climate Minute and all of MCAN's other climate change fighting activities by hitting that "donate now" button, or going to www.massclimateaction.net/donate. Remember, for climate activities near you check out our MCAN climate action calendar.  You can enter events as well as browse for interesting things to do. As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.

The MCAN Climate Minute - You can't manage what you don't measure.

Good morning everybody and welcome to the MCAN Climate Minute. We come to you this week via the wonders of Skype, but we've got our homebrew in the pot and we're sufficiently caffeinated to bring you this week's Climate Minute. Big week in Massachusetts, as announcements and good news abound. First, the state was able to announce that they have met their solar power goals ahead of schedule, as over 250MW of installed capacity has gone online since setting the goals in 2007. That figure should reach 400MW this year or early next, and the Governor has announced a new goal of 1,600MW by 2020. For a map of renewable energy sites in the Commonwealth, check out the Museum of Science's interactive map here.  (Note though: it's not complete, there's a certain 1.6MW facility in my town that doesn't seem to be on the map...) The state's new goal would be easily met if every community was like Dartmouth, Mass, which leads the state in 9.28MW of capacity, beating out every other town in the state. In other good news the state unveiled their Greenhouse Gas Dashboard.  The site provides interesting and valuable data about the state’s emissions profiles and good historical comparisons of the various drivers of ghg emissions.  The site provides useful information to policy makers as they make sure the state’s Clean Energy and Climate Plan is working to accomplish the strict requirements of the Global Warming Solutions Act. On the national front, a new poll out suggests that over half (58%) of Americans link extreme weather to climate change.

It's got a reputation as the originator of "McNews," but USA Today has a fairly in-depth series on climate change and particularly its impact on rain extreme weather that's a good read for newbies to climate change.  Check it out here.

You may recall us talking about the Keeling Curve and the Mauna Loa observatory several weeks ago.  Well, it's on our radar screen again as news comes out that we're very close to hitting a new milestone.  In the next month it's expected that the observatory will being getting sustained readings of over 400ppm of CO2.  This is just another sobering milestone on the planet's climate journey.

This being the 2010's, the observatory has a twitter feed of daily numbers, follow it here. For charts on any scale from the last week to the last 50 years, you can check out UC San Diego's Scripps Insitution of Oceanography's site here.

We reflect on some larger issues in today's podcast, including a discussion of a perpetual carbon future.  This was inspired by an article in The Atlantic that looks at a world that never moves beyond petroleum.

Of course we know that's not going to happen, and climate change will force further restrictions on fossil fuels.  That has it's own set of consequences, including the considerable threat to traditional fossil fuel companies whose values are currently based on petroleum, gas, and coal reserves that (we hope) can never be exploited.

Two big things to think about: who actually owns fossil fuel stocks? (Answer: if you've got a pension or a mutual fund -- probably you.)  And, what's going to happen when those restrictions on fossil fuels we're all working toward are actually put in place?  Here's an interesting (and sobering) article on the potential coming carbon bubble.

(Of course you can get out of fossils entirely through divestment and socially responsible investing.  Our good friend Eric Packer at Progressive Asset Management specializes in these kinds of investments.)

So, what's going on locally? The authors of the proposed carbon tax for Massachusetts, State Representative Tom Conroy (Lincoln, Wayland, Sudbury) and State Senator Mike Barrett (Lexington, Bedford, Concord etc.) will be at Cary Memorial Library tomorrow, Saturday, May 4th, along with an experts in the field (including Kerry Emmanuel of MIT) who will provide background on the issue including how it works and the economic impact. Tom and Mike will provide more information on their proposal. State Senator Will Brownsberger and State Representative Dave Rogers will also be part of the panel discussion. Saturday night is also Earth Night, a great event put on each year by the Environmental League of Massachusetts.  The evening starts at 8pm at the Back Bay Events Center.  Here's their website for more information. Finally, we've rescheduled our Climate Education Meeting on the state Clean Energy and Climate Plan and Green Communities Program for Wednesday, May 29th.  We will be announcing the location next week, hope to see you there! As always, it's been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you.  You know, you can subscribe to our iTunes feed and get our podcasts automatically here.  Feel free to give us your thoughts on our Facebook page, or through old-fashioned email. You can donate and support the Climate Minute and all of MCAN's other climate change fighting activities by hitting that "donate now" button, or going to www.massclimateaction.net/donate. Remember, for climate activities near you check out our MCAN climate action calendar.  You can enter events as well as browse for interesting things to do. As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon. 

The MCAN Climate Minute – thoughts on Activism.

Good morning everybody, it's time for the MCAN Climate Minute! Rob's sitting at home under blankets working through a 102 degree fever, so Ted flies solo today and talks about the climate week in review. First, last Sunday night thousands upon thousands of people linked up to participate in a viewing and discussion of Bill McKibben's "Do the Math" movie and talk about what may be next.  If you didn't get to see the movie, or want to see it again, it's still online; here's the link to see the movie.  If you haven't read it yet, here's Bill's original Rolling Stone piece from last July. The Keystone SDEIS comment period closed on Monday, with over 1,000,000 comments.   The EPA's comments found the State Department's work as insufficient.  You can read more about this at Grist.  Naturally certain Republican legislators are incensed that the EPA would do its job... The lousy thing about being an activist is being right when you worry about worst-case scenarios.  Here's a story about a waste truck being turned away from a landfill in Pennsylvania due to radioactivity.  I think it was just last week that Ted spoke about the occurance of radiation in fracking wastewater. As for this week in history, there are a couple of important milestones this week.  In April 1938 Guy Callendar, an amateur weatherman from England linked fossil fuel use to climate change.  Also, this is the anniversary of the British Petroleum Gulf of Mexico spill.  Here's a sobering piece on the lingering health and environmental effects of the pipeline spill. The events of the past several weeks have brought to the fore several sombering and troubled facts about America.  The recent failure of Congress to address the continued gun violence in this country points to a congress that is in the thrall of special interests.  In some equally troubling news is word that the Koch brothers are contemplating putting together a newspaper chain to pursue their ideology. However, on the other hand laws are being passed to penalize folks just trying to make thing better.  "Big Ag" is going after those crusaders looking to improve the short lives of factory farmed animals; did nobody read "The Jungle" in high school?  And as the climate activists (including Bill McKibben and Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune) will testify to, may place you at odds with authority. It's gotten to the point where Rush Limbuagh - who has 14 million listeners per week - posits that "environmental extremists" could have been responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings...  Here's a Youtube of his rant, proceed at you're own risk...) If we contemplate civil disobedience, it must be transparent, ennobling and non-violent. It must be consistent with Thoreau, Gandhi and King.  Here's a wonderful piece from McKibben expressing his continued admiration for the challenges King faced. The story of Gandhi's salt march draws interesting parallels to the contemporary fight over Keystone XL, and of course King's letter from Birmingham jail is required reading for all activists. As you know, the need for a carbon tax to establish clear signals and encourage a reduction in carbon emissions is one of our favorite topics.  Tom Friedman was the subject of an NPR "On Point" episode giving his thoughts as to why a carbon tax would be a benefit for the country.  More locally, the authors of the proposed carbon tax for Massachusetts, State Representative Tom Conroy (Lincoln, Wayland, Sudbury) and State Senator Mike Barrett (Lexington, Bedford, Concord etc.) will be at Cary Memorial Library on Saturday, May 4th, along with an expert in the field who will provide background on the issue including how it works and the economic impact. Tom and Mike will provide more information on their proposal. State Senator Will Brownsberger and State Representative Dave Rogers will also be part of the panel discussion. As always, it's been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you.  You know, you can subscribe to our iTunes feed and get our podcasts automatically here.  Feel free to give us your thoughts on our Facebook page, or through old-fashioned email. You can donate and support the Climate Minute and all of MCAN's other climate change fighting activities by hitting that "donate now" button, or going to www.massclimateaction.net/donate. Remember, for climate activities near you check out our MCAN climate action calendar.  You can enter events as well as browse for interesting things to do. As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.  Stay safe.  We will see you next week.

The MCAN Climate Minute – Capping a dark week…

Defenseless under the night Our world in stupor lies;

Yet, dotted everywhere, Ironic points of light Flash out wherever the Just Exchange their messages:

May I, composed like them Of Eros and of dust, Beleaguered by the same Negation and despair,

Show an affirming flame.

W.H. Auden, Sept 1, 1939

As we put an end to a week of horror and hope, we can only offer our deepest condolences to the victims of the mindless terror attack at the Boston Marathon.  As we write this two more victims have been added to the toll, MIT Police Officer Sean Collier who was killed and MBTA Police Officer Richard H. Donahue Jr., who was seriously wounded. There are things happening in the climate world, and Rob and Ted talk about the climate doings as we wait some resolution to this nightmare.  A bright spot for us are the continued tales of heroism, from the first responders, to "normal people" who leant a hand.  I'd like to think that the same instinct to help our fellow human is what motivates all of us concerned with climate change.  Thank you for all you do, and thank you for visiting with us today. As always, you can also go to our iTunes page and download or subscribe to the podcast. Some links that will enhance your listening experience: On Sunday, April 21st several locations in the area will hold screenings of a movie about Bill McKibben's "Do The Math" tour.  For a screening near you check out our calendar. EPA has postponed their long-expected powerplant emission rules.  Several states have announced their intention to sue if the agency does not issue its final rules on new powerplant emissions. A new series of earthquakes in Oklahoma heighten suspicions about the ties between fossil fuel extraction and seismic events.  Scientists suspect that a series of quakes in 2011 we connected to practices undertaken in oil drilling.  In connected news, apparently fracking has been dislodging and surfacing significant amounts of uranium... In the congress, Republican Congressman Lee Terry of Nebraska has filed legislation which would take the decision about Keystone out of the President's hands and basically rubber stamp the Keystone pipeline. Joe Romm and Vann Jones have an interesting piece on ThinkProgress about Martin Luther King and his thoughts on direct action and how that relates to climate activists. Has The President given up on Climate?  Some think so. Finally, it's Earth Day Plus 43.  The New Yorker has an interesting piece on the changing nature of the day and the movement. As always, it's been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you.  You know, you can subscribe to our iTunes feed and get our podcasts automatically here.  Feel free to give us your thoughts on our Facebook page, or through old-fashioned email. You can donate and support the Climate Minute and all of MCAN's other climate change fighting activities by hitting that "donate now" button, or going to www.massclimateaction.net/donate.  Much thanks to D from Arlington who helped support us this week! Remember, for climate activities near you check out our MCAN climate action calendar.  You can enter events as well as browse for interesting things to do. As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.  Stay safe.  We will see you next week.

The MCAN Climate Minute - Town Meetings on Turbines, Arctic Ice, Carbon Taxes, and Conservatives for

Town meeting season became all-turbine as Scituate and Falmouth both took up wind turbine related articles this week, while Washington was focused on the nomination hearings for Ernst Moniz and Gina McCarthy for Secretary of Energy and EPA Administrator, respectively. We've noticed it's Arctic Ice Maximum time, and Ted has a bit to say about carbon taxes, and not "go[ing] all wobbly," in the words of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who passed away this week at the age of 87. So grab a cuppa' and hit that orange arrow up there to enjoy this week's Climate Minute. As always, you can also go to our iTunes page and download or subscribe to the podcast. Some links that will enhance your listening experience: On Monday evening Falmouth voters declined to appropriate upwards of $14 million to take down the two town-owned turbines at the wastewater treatment plant. While a majority of town meeting did approve of the article (which would have been funded through a debt exclusion override at town election in May), the article did not garner the 2/3rd support required. The Selectmen offered another proposal the following evening, asking for $100,000 to study the true cost of dismantling the turbines. That request passed after the Board of Selectmen indicated it would be contingent upon the town voting to remove the turbines at the May election.  Last night the board placed a debt exclusion vote on the May 21st ballot, so Falmouth voters will have the opportunity to vote whether or not to tax themselves to remove the turbines. In Scituate, town meeting narrowly rejected an article that would have directed the town to rescind the permits necessary for the turbine to run.  In addition to noise, flicker has been cited as a prime concern of abutters to the Scituate turbine. With the end of winter comes the Arctic Ice Maximum -- the fullest extent of the arctic ice pack.   NOAA calculates that the arctic melt began March 15, and will proceed until we hit arctic minimum sometime this September or October.  Arctic cover heavily affects albedo, or the reflectivity of the Earth.  More ice cover means more solar radiation being bounced back out to space, less ice cover means the planet accepts more heat, worsening climate change.  It's all part of the cycle. The political cycle is on display in Washington, as hearings on President Obama's second term cabinet officials continued.  This week the Presdient's choices for Energy Secretary and EPA administrator, Ernst Moniz and Gina McCarthy, were vetted by the Energy and Natural Resources committee and Environment and Public Works committee, respectively. Dr. Moniz's hearing focused on the secretary-designee's thoughts on natural gas exploration, development and export.  The natural gas boom in the United States is certainly a game-changer, although from a climate standpoint gas is inferior to dramatically upscaling clean renewables.  (Though much, much superior to coal.) Gina McCarthy's hearing focused on other weighty and timely topics like.... phoney email addresses?  Senators took their precious time with the nominee to inquire about the use of email aliases or EPA instant messaging policies.  Well.  Yup.  There you go.  Senator Sanders did try to and refocus the hearing about climate change or other environmental policies, but really all his colleagues wanted to talk about was these super-secret emails, which obviously held clues to the vast international conspiracy of climate change...  Ye Gods. (My opinion is that given the fairly bipartisan support of Gina, and her sterling history of working with regulated communities to ensure government regulations were effective, fair, and sensible, left disgruntled Republicans little of substance to talk about so they had to talk about emails...) (Full disclosure, I had the pleasure of working in two separate state offices with/for Gina, and I found her to be among the finest public servants I've ever worked with.  If she had a partisan political opinion I never heard it, she was just about getting the job done and getting as many people as possible on-board with the decision.  Plus she's simultaneously the most fun and most no-bull[crap] person I worked with in state government.) Ted's thoughts about carbon taxes hit a chord with many.  You'll have to listen to the podcast to get the full argument, but this piece in the Globe about reframing how we think about taxes echoes many of the points Ted makes. In international news, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher passed away this week and left behind an impressive legacy.  One of the lesser-known aspects of her public career was her work to raise awareness and take action against climate change.  Befitting her background in science (she was trained as a research chemist) Thatcher argued that the cautious (and thus conservative) path was to address the problem rather than take  chances that it could be much worse in the future.

“It may be cheaper or more cost-effective to take action now,” she said, “than to wait and find we have to pay much more later.” Global warming was, she argued, “real enough for us to make changes and sacrifices, so that we do not live at the expense of future generations.”

Of course in her later years she moderated her stance and took a more traditional "right wing" position, but her example of faith in science and particularly her recognition that we are merely co-tenants on this planet with our children, grandchildren, and all future generations -- those are solidly "conservative" principles that have been forgotten by her ideological successors. In other "conservative" news, Gallup's latest poll on opinions about climate change show an increase in the number of Republicans who believe that climate change is occuring, up to 52% from 39% in 2011.  While that's great news, the number of R's who believe the change has a man-made cause is only 39%.  Expect poll-watching Republicans to jump on the sunspot bandwagon next election season... Finally, thank you for listening.  By listening you're a part of the climate change movement,   and we need every hand on deck to ensure a healthy and happy future for our kids, and their kids, and so on and so on.  Bill McKibben's latest Rolling Stone piece terms this movement as the Fossil Fuel Resistance, and in true 21st century fashion it's a dispersed and it's de-centralized.  You're a part of it and you resist with everything you do to cut fossil fuels and move to a more sustainable future. As always, it's been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you.  You know, you can subscribe to our iTunes feed and get our podcasts automatically here.  Feel free to give us your thoughts on our Facebook page, or through old-fashioned email. You can donate and support the Climate Minute and all of MCAN's other climate change fighting activities by hitting that "donate now" button, or going to www.massclimateaction.net/donate.  Much thanks to Nancy from Pittsfield who helped support us this week! Remember, for climate activities near you check out our MCAN climate action calendar.  You can enter events as well as browse for interesting things to do. As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.  See you next week.

The Climate Minute - James Hansen retirement edition

James Hansen retired from NASA, paving the way for him to expand his role in the climate debate, it's about time, jeez, you almost never hear from the guy...  Kidding aside, that's just one of the things Rob and Ted talk about in this issue of the Climate Minute.  From the wind swept expanses of the Athabasca tar sands fields to town meeting in Manchester Massachusetts, welcome to the MCAN Climate Minute. As always, click on the “MCAN Climate Minute” picture to the right to start the recording in a new window, or go to our iTunes page and download or subscribe to the podcast. Some links to go enhance your listening experience: James Hansen is retiring after 46 years in NASA service.  Congratulations to Dr. Hansen, and we're excited to see you expand your activism (if that's possible) for the good of of the planet. Dr. Hansen's predictions from 1981 prove to be pretty reliable, over thirty years later.  Maybe he was on to something, eh? Bummer given his predictions about the impact of Keystone XL on climate change. But the fight over Keystone isn't over yet.  We've provided what we hope is a handy guide to talking Keystone with your climate denier friends and maybe getting them to oppose the pipeline on non-climate grounds. The Mayflower, Arkansas spill is just the latest disaster involving tar sands.  Perhaps the most galling aspect of that spill is the fact that tar sands derived oil doesn't even pay into the trust fund that is being used to clean up the spill.  If that doesn't get people ticked off about the idea of transporting more tar sands through the country, I don't know what does. To top it all off, Exxon has been running the show in Mayflower, and even denying press access to the disaster. Chris Hayes, of "All In" on MSNBC has done some excellent shows about the Mayflower spill and Keystone recently, check them out (after you're done listening here, of course!). Closer to home, tempers are flaring over wind turbines, with folks in Kingston upset about turbine flicker(sorry, story's only available behind the Globe's paywall), and Falmouth voting at town meeting next week on whether or not to spend millions of dollars to take down their existing turbines. There is some good news at town meetings though, with Manchester-by-the-Sea, a town as pretty as its name would suggest, passing the optional Stretch Building Code earlier this week, and towns like Lunenburg, Framingham, and West Newbury coming up in the next several weeks. The Legislature is in hearing season, and while the hearing on the Oil Heat Efficiency program we talked with Natalie Hildt about earlier this week has been pushed off, the debate about the future of transportation funding in the Commonwealth will take place next week. Competing plans have been proposed by the Governor and Legislative leadership, and while the Governor's plan provides more support for the system and new projects not covered in the Legislature leadership's plan, the Legislative plan does contain taxes on gasoline and electricity that inch us ever closer to our favorite topic: the Carbon Tax! The Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance has many thoughtful posts about the competing plans and what they feel is truly needed for lasting transportation reform in Massachusetts. Spring also means the fight for the updated bottle bill starts over.  Tomorrow night there will be a great event in Arlington, "The Battle for the Bottle Bill," a night of comedy, music, and conversation about the new bottle bill legislation before become hill.  Go here for more information.  We've only been trying to to get those pesky water bottles and juice bottles taken care of for 16 years, maybe this is the year! The bladeless wind turbine, via Grist Let's end on a hopeful note.  Ted found a neat new invention -- a bladeless wind turbine.  Perhaps the power of the future will be generated by these machines and "wind turbine syndrome" and flicker will be a thing of the past.  Or perhaps Ted's suggestion of mass numbers of Crookes Radiometers generating our power a sip at a time will be our savior.  I don't know, but I'm not the one in the conversation with a patent to his name... As always, it's been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you.  You know, you can subscribe to our iTunes feed and get our podcasts automatically here.  Feel free to give us your thoughts on our Facebook page, or through old-fashioned email. You can donate and support the Climate Minute and all of MCAN's other climate change fighting activities by hitting that "donate now" button, or going to www.massclimateaction.net/donate.  Much thanks to Maura from Quincy and Leo from Wrentham who helped support us last week! Remember, for climate activities near you check out our MCAN climate action calendar.  You can enter events as well as browse for interesting things to do. As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.  See you next week.

The Climate Minute - Start By Doing What Is Necessary...

St. Francis Assisi is credited with the saying "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."  Timely words for climate activists from the Saint.  This week Ted and Rob discuss whether the President is doing what's necessary (never mind what's possible or impossible), and Ted waxes philosophical about the equinox while a new Pope gives environmentalists some hope. As always, click on the “MCAN Climate Minute” picture to the right to start the recording in a new window. To read more about the President's plans to address automobile-sourced greenhouse gas emissions, here is a good piece from the New York Times.  The other new initiative we discussed was the President's proposal to include greenhouse gas emissions impacts in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  As former Massachusetts Energy and Environment Secretary Ian Bowles tweeted out earlier this week, Massachusetts has been requiring ghg impacts as part of the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act review since about 2007.  Naturally some legislative luddites are trying to get involved and block the President's proposal. For more on the President's Clean Energy Trust proposal, check out Climate Desk here.  On the worrying side of the ledger, you should read about the delay in new source review for coal plants which is a concerning development. As you're aware the vernal equinox is upon us, and while the thing about an egg standing its end is hogwash, it is a time to take note of.  The equinox actually occurred on the 20th, at  11:02am.  As Ted points out, the equinox is an occasion to re-orient ourselves with a view toward nature (and our place in it), something lost in modern times but celebrated throughout antiquity.  Any occasion which causes us to think about our place in the grand scheme of things is welcome, and should work to raise consciousness of environmental issues including climate change. The new Pope of the Catholic Church chose the name Francis, who is the patron saint of, among other things, ecology.  Pope Francis gave his first homily as Pope this Tuesday, and his speech touched on the importance of protecting the environment in a number of passages.  Here's perhaps the most direct:

The vocation of being a “protector”, however, is not just something involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone. It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us. It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.

Hopefully he will continue to enunciate these sentiments to the world's 1.8 billion Catholics. Slate's gabfest had an interesting conversation about religion and modernity, which is fortuitously times given the equinox reminding us of our more nature-abiding past, and the installation of a new Pope taking the name of his church's most famous environmentalist.  I guess I would make the argument that a focus on conservation and environmental awareness is actually a move back toward older forms of faith and spirituality.  What do you think? In more temporal matters, Mayor Menino's proposal on building energy labeling will come up for a hearing on March 28th.  Larry Harmon wrote a very critical op-ed about the proposal in the Boston Globe, the state Department of Energy Resources has an illuminating white paper on the concept here.  Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) has a very helpful report here. For more news about the pending "de-listing" of the Mt. Tom coal plant, go here.  The great news about DPU's order relative to the proposed new gas plant in Salem is here, and for more discussion about what the sale of Brayton Point may mean, check out here, and Conservation Law Foundation's excellent analysis of the economic circumstance of Brayton here.  Finally, to stay up on all the news regarding New England's remaining coal polluters power plants, friend "Coal Free Massachusetts" on Facebook. Reminder: The website Credo has made it easy to submit an electronic comment on the Keystone pipeline Draft EIS here.  They'll provide you with a generic comment text which you can change, and they'll electronically deliver the comment for you.  They have collected 160,000 signatures toward their goal of delivering 200,000 comments on the pipeline. Tom Friedman (apparently Tom Friedman's Column of the Week is a new Climate Minute feature...) wrote a column last Saturday on the political and economic benefits of carbon taxes. If you're looking for a great conference full of ideas on how you can make a difference in your community, you should check out the Massachusetts Sustainable Communities / Sustainable Campuses conference happening on April 24th at the Worcester DCU center.  More information is available here. Also, don't forget to come back and visit for more details on our April 17th meeting with state officials discussing the Commonwealth's Clean Energy and Climate Plan. It's been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you as always.  You know, you can subscribe to our iTunes feed and get our podcasts automatically here.  Feel free to give us your thoughts on our Facebook page, or through old-fashioned email. Remember, for climate activities near you check out our MCAN climate action calendar.  You can enter events as well as browse for interesting things to do. As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.  See you next week.

The Climate Minute: Keystone is the Key

With only a few weeks left in the Keystone comment period, Rob and Ted spend a considerable amount of time of this podcast talking about the pipeline and what you can do about it. As always, click on the “MCAN Climate Minute” picture to the right to start the recording in a new window. Thanks to all who came to the MCAN/TAC conference this past weekend.  We had a great time and enjoyed meeting new people, learning some new things, and generally sharpening both our knowledge and our enthusiasm. We'll be posting materials from the conference on this site (look at the "Conference 2013" tab at the top), but for now why don't you check out some of the photos, or listen to the podcast Ted put together (about putting together podcasts -- how meta!). In other news, the comment period for the Keystone Draft Environmental Impact Statement is ticking down, with comments due in mid April. The New York Times provided its comment against the pipeline here. Tom Friedman (also of the Times) thinks that the President is likely to approve the pipeline... and that means it's time to get crazy.  Friedman opines that if we make enough noise about the Keystone decision we might get some concessions -- a carbon tax perhaps, or some other sweetener. Grist thinks the President should do the right thing from the get-go and just disapprove the pipeline, crack down on existing dirty power plants, and that talk of trades is defeatist. Of course, even a Presidential approval might not be the end of this story.  Several environmental lawyers who know their way around the National Environmental Policy Act think that the Keystone EIS doesn't meet the requirements of the the law and is legally insufficient.  It's quite likely this decision could end up in court either way -- one assumes Transcanada would file some sort of appeal to the President's decision as well. The website Credo has made it easy to submit an electronic comment here.  They'll provide you with a generic comment text which you can change, and they'll electronically deliver the comment for you.  They're apparently half-way toward their goal of delivering 200,000 comments on the pipeline. And there are of course other ways to express your objection to the pipeline and use of tar sands.  Congratulations to the young activists arrested in the Westborough, MA, headquarters of TransCanada.  You can follow their actions on their blog.   Tom Ashbrook of NPR had an interesting discussion with a number of young people talking about the edgier, more urgent new face of climate activism. Rep. Waxman, Senator Whitehouse, and a number of other congresspeople are "crowd sourcing" new carbon capping legislation.   They are asking for comments and your thoughts on the best ways to place a price on carbon.  Their discussion draft can be found here. Waxman is a quiet leader on climate change.  You don't see if on the Sunday morning talking-head shows too often, but he is a passionate advocate for these issues, to the point of being unafraid to push the president in caucus. On the local scene, Rep. Tom Conroy (D-Wayland) and Sen. Michael Barrett (D- ) have filed h. 2532, "An Act relative to shifting from carbon emissions to transportation investment" which would place a state-level carbon tax.  We'll keep you informed as to when the bill is up for a hearing. Finally, More concerns have arisen about Energy Secretary designee Ernest Moniz's positions, this time surrounding his work on clean coal.  I think it's important to remember that Moniz is a researcher, and was researching the potential for carbon sequestration to reduce or eliminate coal combustion's carbon emissions.  Now while sequestration would not address some of the horrible aspects of coal production (such as mountaintop removal or the toxic water pollution caused by coal mining), it would provide lower emission coal power -- which would be positive from a carbon standpoint. But more importantly, Moniz understands and agrees the we live in a "carbon contrained world," which is something we need and should support in our Energy Secretary. It's been a pleasure sharing climate news and views with you as always.  You know, you can subscribe to our iTunes feed and get our podcasts automatically here.  Feel free to give us your thoughts on our Facebook page, or through old-fashioned email. Remember, for climate activities near you check out our MCAN climate action calendar.  You can enter events as well as browse for interesting things to do. As always -- remember, for these reasons we have discussed, the United States must place a price on carbon.  See you next week.